How many of you really expect the Cards to win the division?

[Duckjake]

If the defense stays healthy like it did last season and we don't lose two key skill players on offense (Boldin and Shipp) before the first snap there is no reason why they shouldn't either win the division or take a wildcard berth. The Rams and Vikings got in the playoffs last year at 8-8! The Cards should be able to do better than that.



Just having Fitzgerald and Boldin 100% for 16 games will make a huge difference.

 

[Dback Jon]

Not winning the division will be a disapointment. We were only 4-5 PLAYS away from winning it last year. 7-9 or 8-8 would really be a step back, IMHO.

 

[phillycard]

I'm sorry but I do. Damn that. The Seahawks are ready to go down. And if we don't beat the Lambs and Whiners twice, I'll be hot. I think a lot of why we will win is attitude. I think we really know we can do it this year, as opposed to hoping we could do it in previous years. I think the team will be upset if we don't do it. This division is ours!

 

[40yearfan]

Ask me after the first two games. Both are crucial, must win games. If we stand 2 - 0, we win the division.

 

[chickenhead]

+1 With the exception of the playoff-clinching game against SD and the odd game against Dallas, I think these are absolutely positively two of the most anticipated regular season games in years.

 

[CronosCard]

"..And in this corner.."

I do believe that DG has looked closely at his time coaching the Vikings..

They had good teams, great offenses, and good defenses. As other gentlemen are saying, DEFENSES win championships.. the exception? Warner's ST.Louis hams.
Is anyone as convinced as I am that Denny has learned where his weakness may have been in hindsight.. He seems to be putting alot of resources to make sure the defense never lets the team down again....

 

[sundevilscott]

Anything less then 9-7 this year is a failure. We should be over the .500 mark.

 

[earthsci]

Last year I predicted 6-10. I also predicted that we would be 9-7 this year. I actually think that we will do better than that. Every game on our schedule is winnable, given that we don't play Philly and Indy until the end of the season and they may be resting up for the playoffs. I know that we won't win them all but don't be shocked if we win 11 or 12.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I do believe that DG has looked closely at his time coaching the Vikings..

They had good teams, great offenses, and good defenses. As other gentlemen are saying, DEFENSES win championships.. the exception? Warner's ST.Louis hams.
Is anyone as convinced as I am that Denny has learned where his weakness may have been in hindsight.. He seems to be putting alot of resources to make sure the defense never lets the team down again....

why does everyone keep syaing this about the Rams? Wasn't their defense during the year they won the Super Bowl actually ranked in the top five in the league? They held the Bucs to 6 points and the Titans to 16 points in consecutive games. I think people for some reason merge in their heads the defense the next year (which was an abomination) with the D that won them the Super Bowl, which was pretty damn good as well.

 

[Skkorpion]

8-8 would be a thrill. Anything better is more up to lady luck and the injury gods.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I've tempered my enthusiasm a little bit. Earlier in the offseason Ibelieved anything less than 9 wins would be failure - but I'm rounding more and more into lowering that to 8 wins. The defense should be very good, but I am a little concerned at rookies manning important positions at #2 and 3 CB and even though I have faith in DG's ability to bring QBs back from the dead, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about Warner... we are the Cardinals after all.

8-8 this year with a ceiling of 10-6. Anything below 7 wins will be a disaster IMO.

 

[spanky1]

8-8 would be a thrill. Anything better is more up to lady luck and the injury gods.

I dunno......I think we were an 8-8 team last year. I won't be happy with anything below 9-7.

 

[TigToad]

8-8

I think we go 8-8 this year. We are very close to winning the division with that record, but fall short. It is quite possible if we stay away from injuries we could go 10-6 and shock a lot of people, but I will stand by 8-8. I would be happy with .500. We have NOT shown an ability to win on the road. If we jump out with a couple road wins early, I'll start getting excited about 10-6 and a play off spot.

 

[vince56]

You know what would be a totally 'Cardinals' thing to have happen? We win 10 or 11 games, don't win the division, and the other NFC wildcard teams have 12 and 13 wins, therefore eliminating us from the playoffs. We'd even have a better record than one of the division winners.

I could see it, even in our weak division. That'd be so damn funny and so damn pathetic at the same time. The NFL is playing with fire right now not having enough wild card spots to go around and one of these years this scenario is going to happen to one team.

 

[arthurracoon]

I can't say I wouldn't be happy with 8-8. (I would be happy with 8-8)

I would expect 9-7.

I would be thrilled with anything higher.

 

[Bobcat]

8-8 would be a thrill. Anything better is more up to lady luck and the injury gods.

YOUR TO PESSIMISTIC, BUT AFTER 18 YEARS HERE IN THE VALLEY...!!!

I AM HOPING FOR 11-5 SEASON AND TWO PLAY-OFF WINS. AFTER THAT AND I AM RELEASED FROM ICU DUE TO A HEART ATTACK WOULD BE GRAVEY

BOBCAT ,

 

[PACardsFan]

I'm not worried about the QB position at all. With an improved running game, Boldin there the whole season, & more depth on the OL, I think Warner will have weapons that he hasn't seen since his MVP days. Even if the OL doesn't give Warner time & he starts fumbling, we can utilize a far more mobile McCown. With the weapons listed above, McCown is good enough to lead this team to at least 9 wins. If we win the opener, we win 10 or 11 games. If we lose the opener, we win 8 or 9.

 

[Rocco]

I'm still expecting a .500 year but I have to admit that I would probably be a little disappointed with a 7-9 year. Would be absolutely thrilled with 9-7. Anything less than 7 wins would be VERY disappointing unless we suffer some major injuries.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

8-8 would be a thrill. Anything better is more up to lady luck and the injury gods.

ding ding, skorp and i have been agreeing about this for a long time. that 8-8 record is a platform from which we'll spring to 11-5 and a legit championship contender in the first year of our new stadium.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I dunno......I think we were an 8-8 team last year. I won't be happy with anything below 9-7.

we were a 6-10 team last year. no woulda-coulda-shoulda. the damn record book doesn't lie. you win, you win. you lose, you lose. we lost 10 games last year. face reality.

 

[ajcardfan]

ding ding, skorp and i have been agreeing about this for a long time. that 8-8 record is a platform from which we'll spring to 11-5 and a legit championship contender in the first year of our new stadium.

I could accept that if it wins us the division and we get a home playoff game this year. I want at least one stinking playoff game at SDS. I don't think that's too much to ask.

 

[Lex]

I'm with AJ.

A division win at 10-6, and a home playoff game before we leave Sun Devil Stadium would be a sweet ending to that saga.

 

[vinnymac]

it is a real posibility. that is what everyone expects out of the cardinals. i believe the cardinals will win the nfc west by a land slide.

 

[conraddobler]

we were a 6-10 team last year. no woulda-coulda-shoulda. the damn record book doesn't lie. you win, you win. you lose, you lose. we lost 10 games last year. face reality.

I hate to bring this up but a lot of people were just sure Josh was the main reason for our record last year.

As he isn't the QB anymore those people should be expecting more I'd think, just an observation.

I mean if those people were right and they could be I don't know, then we should leapfrog just by competent QB play alone.

Factor in further roster upgrades and I don't see how you could have been in the hate Josh camp and yet still reside in the lets hold our horses in 2005 camp at the same time.

Honestly those being pessimistic now, having harped on him, I think would have to predict much better than 8 wins to be consistent.

Personally, my take is that DG always gets it going in year two it's the way he works and I see no reason to doubt him now.

Lot of experts are banking on this trait too, he's the reason a lot of them are predicting we win this year.

I'd say 10-6 seems right and we are more likely to go higher than lower IMO.

I'd say chances are several DG draft picks will star and that Warner will get hurt about 4 or less games in and we'll get OMG it's Josh part Deux.

In my crystal ball I'd say it shakes out like this, Big makes a mental error and someone cuts Kurt in half as he's waiting on a WR to clear.

Josh comes in, lots moan and he probably fails and one of the bench guys excell.

JJ has a tremendous year and the defense is stunning.

Also a TE starts catching amazing amounts of balls.

 

[Redsz]

Anything less than 9-7 would be a disspointment. I think the guys on the Cardinals roster would agree.